The long-term depopulation process in the Pyrenees mountain chain: the case of Aragon

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse the depopulation process that has taken place in the rural districts of the Aragonese stretch of the Pyrenees mountain chain during the course of the period running from the middle of the nineteenth century until the present day. We first consider the long-term demographic evolution that has led to the said depopulation process, one that has its roots in a massive migratory exodus, finding that the causes lie, above all, in the unequal economic growth that took place in Spain during the industrialisation process. Similarly, it emerges that unequal access to public services and deficient infrastructures also played a significant role in explaining this migratory flow during the second half of the twentieth century,. The paper closes with a review of the problems and perspectives currently faced by the Aragonese Pyrenees from the point of view of depopulation.